Record Crowd at Barrett Jones Luncheon Nets $87,000

Posted by Kelly Wallace on 07/28/2015

BIRMINGHAM, AL, July 27, 2015—Current St. Louis Rams lineman and legendary Crimson Tide football great Barrett Jones gave a passionate and moving emotional message about his life, service and ministry to a luncheon crowd of 305 persons on Thursday, June 16th at the Harbert Center. Nearly $87,000 was raised from the event. The $87,000 raised nearly doubled previous luncheon totals and the turnout of over 300 shattered previous attendance records. All proceeds will benefit The Firehouse Shelter's seven housing programs, which serve over 215 homeless men every night.

Jones’s message encouraged listeners to look for opportunities to do what The Firehouse Shelter does every day—to lift up others and encourage the broken, hurting and lost. Jones spoke of his journey to becoming an All-American at Alabama, to winning a National Championship and eventually playing in the NFL. He encouraged everyone to become selfless and driven to serve others. He highlighted The Firehouse Shelter’s mission to meet the spiritual needs of others as a cornerstone as a way to make a difference for the Kingdom and in the lives of the homeless living here in Birmingham.

James McCright, former Firehouse Shelter guest, gave a heart-touching testimony about how The Firehouse Shelter “forever changed his life” and allowed him to build a strong foundation that has allowed him to stay clean and sober and deal with his mental illness much more effectively than ever before. James received a round of applause when he finished his testimony. Anne Wright, (Executive Director), Doug Kovash, (Development Director) and Danny Rodgers (Board President) each shared a message regarding the impact that The Firehouse Shelter is having upon the lives of the homeless living in the seven county metro area. Rector Kevin Bazzel from the Cathedral of St Paul opened the event in prayer and Mark LaGory, deacon from St Luke’s Episcopal Church, closed the luncheon with prayer.

Special thanks go out to Jeh Jeh Pruitt at FOX 6 Sports for serving as event emcee, the Firehouse Shelter board members and staff for their hard work behind the scenes. 37 corporate, individual and church sponsors paved the way for this record setting day. Highlights from the event will be posted on The Firehouse Shelter's YouTube channel. Butch Ogelsby, Blue Moon Studios, photographed the event. Pictures from the event can be found on The Firehouse Shelter website at www.firehouseshelter.com